1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a soft-type, side positioning infant carrier.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
Various kinds of carriers have been devised for enabling an adult to carry an infant on the hip. Such prior art has been limited by problems of comfort and adjustability for the infant and adult.
The first problem of comfort has been partially solved by utilizing two regions of the adult's body for weight distribution. The weight of the infant has typically been distributed to the shoulder and/or the waist regions. For example, the following patents only utilize one strap to either the shoulder or the waist. (See U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,389,005; 4,790,459; 4,901,898.) All of the infant carriers disclosed in these patents do not have the advantages of using an additional weight distribution strap.
Infant carriers that utilize both a shoulder strap and a waist strap can be seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,436,233; 4,487,346; 4,724,987; 4,915,277; 4,986,458; 5,441,186. These infant carriers attempt to take advantage of the hip position and the combined attributes of a shoulder strap(s) and a waist strap. However, these carriers have narrow shoulder straps which cause neck and shoulder pain.
The adult carries a large portion of the infant's weight on the shoulder strap. Generally, prior art has focused on placing the shoulder strap over the clavicle bone. The bone has little muscular padding and becomes sore quickly. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,389,005 and 4,724,987 have begun to address this issue, but were unable to fully solve other infant carrier issues and U.S. Pat. No. 4,389,005 did not have a waist strap.
Child comfort has also been addressed in prior art, but there are still significant problems with providing a seat which fully supports the child. When the child is sitting upright there needs to be a large surface area to support the child's hips and thighs. This ensures that the child remains comfortable and his/her back and hips are not unnecessarily stressed (for example, the seat portion of U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,436,233, 4,915,277 and 4,901,898 only support the infants hips.)
An additional area not addressed in prior art is full torso support for the child. The child carrier must fully wrap around the child's sides and extend up the child's back to ensure against the possibility of falling backwards or out the sides. The seat portion of the aboverientioned U.S. Pat. Nos. only have lower back support and the sides do not fully wrap around the child. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,487,346, 4,389,005 and 4,915,277 have added separate back or side straps for support. However, these can slip and leave large portions of the child's body unsupported.